


Midsummer Dreams

by lesbiantoddhoward



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: F/F, Slow Burn-ish, angst galore w a happy ending, i mention it before the chapter starts but just a warning!, im basically writing about my own experiences w homophobia, internalized homophobia //, it's more slow burn than my first fic!, not quite but, oh also the d-slur is used once in chapter 4, self indulgent as all heck too lol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-04
Updated: 2017-10-28
Packaged: 2019-01-09 01:41:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12266325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbiantoddhoward/pseuds/lesbiantoddhoward
Summary: Diana gets a surprise visit in the middle of the night, disrupting her dull summer.





	1. Chapter 1

Lesbian.

It was a word that Diana Cavendish had only recently come to terms with. Just a few months ago had she even begun to entertain the idea of loving women, but the facts in front of her couldn’t be denied. 

There were the smaller things; never fawning over Andrew as a child, for example. But she just kept returning to the issue of Atsuko Kagari. She had _entered_ the Cavendish family chambers. The hall was heavily cursed, and filled to the brim with hidden runes, meant to protect the catacombs from would-be-burglars and non-family members. Even if Akko had _somehow_ avoided the runes, (unlikely for a girl clumsy as herself) the door itself was cursed. Anyone not bearing the affection of a Cavendish shouldn’t have been able to enter at all!

Yet she did.

Anna, Diana’s childhood nanny and personal maid, confided in the heiress that in all her years with the family, the only outsider to have ever entered--and returned--from the chamber was Diana’s own father.

The implications were clear, and they had weighed heavily on the blonde witch. She certainly cared for Akko, and considered the girl one of her best friends, among the rest of the red, blue, and green teams. After all, the two had practically saved the world together! But as much as she hated to admit it, Diana was afraid. What if it had been a coincidence? Akko certainly was affectionate, perhaps enough to pass as a Cavendish! Besides, doesn’t she have a thing with Andrew?

Even if the feeling was mutual--which it likely wasn’t--having such a prominent figurehead of modern magic be gay? It was a disaster waiting to happen, a piece of ammunition for those against witches to lob against them. She had a role to play, a prestige to maintain; jeopardizing it for a selfish crush would harm not just the Cavendish legacy, but witches as whole.

Diana sighed. She’d been thinking in an endless loop like this for hours now, and the moon hung high in the sky. Very few things managed to stump Diana, but once again, Akko proved to be the exception. Tomorrow she had yet another date with some boy of yet another powerful family. Ever since the missile crisis thrust Diana into the spotlight, Aunt Daryl had been doing her damndest to find a potential, wealthy suitor. Recounting the long summer of horrific attempts at romance, Diana realized something:

She was _lonely._

It wasn’t uncommon for her to be alone, no, but absence makes the heart grow fonder, as they say. After growing accustomed to the constant attention and contact with the Hannah, Barbara, and the red and green teams, it suddenly placed her summer in a stark contrast. While her fellow blue team members did live nearby, the two girls were vacationing nearly the whole holiday, leaving Diana with only her family. 

Certainly, their relations had improved somewhat following the incident with the head of house ceremony, but things were far from pleasant between the two. In fact, Diana wasn’t convinced that attempting to find her a ‘serious’ suitor wasn’t an attempt by Aunt Daryl to maintain her status as head of the Cavendishes. Still, Diana had little choice other than humor these attempts at romance.

A sudden, intense tapping at her window jolted the heiress from her half-hearted efforts at obtaining sleep. Sliding out of bed, Diana stealthily moved over towards her window, and found herself face-to-face with none other than Atsuko Kagari on a broomstick. The girl was obviously struggling; she couldn’t stop the broom from wobbling up and down, despite her focus being directed towards it. She, in fact, hadn’t noticed that the broom was occasionally bumping against the window. Tapping against the window herself, Diana drew the attention of Akko.

Clearly, Akko was not expecting to have been noticed yet, as she immediately lost control of the broomstick. It thrashed underneath her, and launched her through the window, where she promptly landed on Diana’s bed. Unfortunately for Akko, the glass was enchanted with an alarm spell; a high-pitched siren noise rang throughout the manor, disturbing the quiet peace that had been in place just moments ago. 

Waving her wand, Diana dispelled the shrieking enchantment and rushed over towards the girl unfurled on her bed. She was covered in head to toe in small nicks and scratches, pieces of glass embedded in her hair. Her eyes were held tightly shut and she held her hands up defensively. Realizing the piercing noise was gone, Akko opened her eyes and found Diana’s crystal blue eyes standing over her.

“Hi Diana! How’ve you been?” She let out a nervous chuckle, a faint blush across her face.

Opening her mouth to respond, Diana was interrupted by her own door slamming open, a concerned Anna wielding an ornate silver candlestick as a weapon. “Milady! Are you alright? I heard--” She stopped her scanning of the room as her eyes settled on Akko, “You! I hope that you have caused no trouble to milady Diana!”

“It is quite alright, Anna. I assure you Ms. Kagari was simply….visiting.” Diana said, dismissing the notion with a simple wave of her hand. “I quite appreciate your concern, however.”

Content with the answer, Anna gave a curt nod, briefly lectured Akko on the importance of informing people before arriving, and returned to her room. 

Left alone, Diana turned to her friend. “Akko, what are you doing here?”

“Well, you see, Barbara texted Lotte texted Sucy texted me that you were really bored and I was bored, too! So I begged my parents to let me come back to England early to hang out with you and they said yes! I just, uhm, kinda forgot to tell _you_ I guess.” Akko rambled out, one word bleeding into the next. “Anyways, now we have, like, a month before school starts back up! Isn’t that great?” An undeniable sparkle shined in her eyes as she gripped Diana’s hands, causing a warm blush to spread across the blonde’s face.

A genuine smile crossed Diana’s face--a rarity, given her tendency to hide her true emotions--but was quickly dashed with a look of worry. “While I certainly appreciate the gesture, Akko, I regrettably will be unable to spend much time with you. My aunt,” Akko grimaced slightly at the mention of her, “has been attempting to set me up with a suitor of some kind. It has consumed most of my time, lately.”

Akko’s mouth hung ajar, and suddenly she was re-energized, “That’s so cool, Diana; it’s like one of Lotte’s Nightfall books! I didn’t even know you dated!”

“It’s a relatively recent development. And I assure you that these noblemen are nowhere near as interesting as a romance novel. Truthfully, every outing so far has been dreadful.” Diana stated, attempting to repress the feelings for the girl in front of her. Suddenly, her attention turned towards the fresh cuts lining Akko’s face. “I mean no offense, Akko, but you seem quite worse for wear. May I tend to your wounds?”

She nodded, and as such Diana pulled out her wand. Waving it over Akko’s face, the fresh bruises and scars began to fade. She continued it over the brunette’s arms and legs, and ended it by ruffling her hair, getting the glass out.

“If you don’t mind, Akko,” Diana started, “I would appreciate returning to bed. I’ll have to be up early tomorrow.”

“Yeah! Of course! I’ve just got a teensy tiny question.”

“What is it?”

“Where do I sleep?”

A dusting of pink shined on Diana’s face, as she she quickly recomposed herself, “I suppose, for tonight, we can share my bed. It’s plenty large. I will look into better accommodations tomorrow.”

“Okay! Lemme just go change into my pajamas--” Akko paused mid-way through speaking, in thought. “Uhm, Diana...I left my luggage on the ground outside.”

Giggling, Diana levitated the two bags to the now broken window, leaving Akko to change her into her sleepwear. The two crawled into bed, Diana doing her best to ignore her more romantic half, and began drifting off to sleep.

“Good night, Diana.”

“Good night, Akko.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The next morning came far too quickly in Diana’s opinion. As she slowly stirred from her slumber, she noticed a warm presence around her waist. Slowly, the events of last night came back to her, the wind blowing in from the now open window. Glancing downwards, Diana she saw...hands? A warm breath on her neck confirmed her simultaneous hopes and fears: Akko was certainly embracing her. She should have known a girl as sweet as Akko would be a cuddler.

As tempting as returning to sleep was, that would likely result in Aunt Daryl coming upstairs to fetch her personally, and Diana _really_ didn’t want to deal with explaining this. She felt bad, rousing the likely exhausted girl, but there was really no other way.

“Akko,” she whispered.

No response.

Sighing, she moved out from under the girl.

No response.

It seemed Akko was a rather heavy sleeper.

Truthfully, Diana was incredibly thankful to have her over. With the way summer had dragged on, spending time with a girl as chaotic, impulsive, and carefree as Akko would certainly be appreciated; especially when she was as attractive as she was. It would be a nice change of pace, being able to honestly share her thoughts on a the boys she saw; Diana would never dream of telling Aunt Daryl the truth regarding these dates.

Yawning, she headed towards her wardrobe. As per usual, she knew next to nothing of the date, outside of the location. Absentmindedly, she motioned her wand towards the broken window, causing it to reassemble itself. Deciding this one would be more casual, Diana selected her outfit and headed towards the bathroom to get ready.

Having painstakingly done her make-up and hair, showered, and generally woke herself up, Diana emerged and glanced at the clock. 9:53. Akko remained fast asleep, snoring loudly, and with the date at 10:30, she would likely awaken sometime after Diana had left. Reaching for a pen, she wrote a note for the Japanese witch, leaving it on her luggage. She silently crept out of her room, ensuring the door didn’t creak, and began her way downstairs.

As she moved through the winding corridors towards the main entrance, she let her mind wander regarding the previous night. It was incredibly kind, if not perhaps a little selfish, for the girl to come all this way just to visit her. Truly, it spoke to the strives they had made in their friendship since unleashing the Grand Triskellion; the old Akko and the old Diana could barely hold a conversation without escalating to a one-sided screaming match. Privately, she wondered what Akko had been up to during the summer. Despite her escapades and large mouth, the brunette was rather secretive, or at least not upfront, regarding her home life. It was, of course, possible that the opportunity simply hadn’t arisen, rather than the girl trying to hide it. Diana made a mental note to interrogate Akko about it later.

Awaiting her at the bottom of the stairs was, as these arrangements usually went, was Aunt Daryl. The two briefly exchanged words in an attempt to be cordial, typically including a description of the would-be-suitor. This time followed the script nearly to a tee, until the end.

“I must know, Diana; did the alarm awake you last night?” Aunt Daryl inquired.

Nodding, Diana started, “I was about to mention that, in fact. A friend of mine stopped by last night. She will be staying for the rest of the month; I do hope that’s no problem.”

“Why, of course not! The more the merrier, I suppose. Now I believe you should get along; mustn’t keep the boys waiting too long, after all.” Daryl's condescending tone seeped from every word, seemingly uninterested in the likely petty misdoings of childhood.

“Of course.” Stoically, Diana headed for the door, and entered the limousine waiting upon her outside.

Some part of her hoped this one would be different; that it would provide some reprieve from her complicated feelings regarding her friend.


	2. Chapter 2

The date was _not_ different, by any and all definitions of the word ‘different.’ The boy--a son of some German chocolate CEO--had been just fine. A bit of a snob, but that came with the territory. The location--a small cafe Diana was growing to hate, after all her visits there--was fine. The small talk? Fine. Fine fine fine fine fine. The whole thing was just _fine._ He had spoke of fame and power and how impressed he was that a witch could stop a missile and blah blah blah. Honestly, how did her mother do it? The talks of noblemen were dreadful. How could _Akko_ do it? The girl had the attention span of a flea, and that was putting it nicely. Yet she somehow enjoyed the presence of Andrew Hanbridge; the king of boring, uninteresting wealthy talk.

At least if it had been a disaster, something interesting would have happened. Instead it would be filed away with the rest of the summer’s dates, to blur into one dull boy after another. It was another rerun of the same day, over and over again; one she would have to pretend to have been enthralled by to her Aunt.

Climbing out of the limo, Diana performed her typical routine: profound thanks, a whimsical wave, flutter of the eyes, hair flip, and turn. She let out a sigh as she entered the mansion, where Anna awaited her.

“Milady, Daryl Cavendish has requested your presence at once.”

“Very well,” Diana said, following behind her personal servant. Now _this_ was an interesting development indeed. Usually the discussions over these dates occurred over dinner, giving her some time to decompress and relax (contrary to her persona, the girl was only human. She needed the time to debrief herself as much as anyone else). Silently, she began to fear that this might have something to do with Akko; while Aunt Daryl likely saw the two together on television, their last interactions in person were….less than ideal, to say the least. 

Eventually, they reached their destination: the head of the family’s study. Opening the door for Diana, Anna gestured her liege to enter, waiting upon her outside the door once more.

The room itself was dark, the curtains drawn and fireplace cold. Sitting behind the desk was none other than her aunt, while shadows ran long across the bookshelves lining the walls. A far cry from the typically cozy atmosphere of the study when her mother was the head, Diana thought. It all seemed rather inconvenient; a dark, chilly room with books that likely hadn’t been touched since before Diana was born. Then again, Aunt Daryl always did have a preference for the dramatic.

“Oh, Diana. You’re back! I trust the date went well?” Aunt Daryl inquired. She stared at her nails, disinterested. Apathy enveloped every word as she spoke it.

Nodding coldly, Diana stood in the middle of the room, ready to return to her room. “Yes. Anna said you called for me?”

Leaning backwards in her chair, the older Cavendish gripped the armrests. “You hadn’t told me who our guest was, dear. What a surprise it was, finding the chosen wielder of the Claiomh Solais in your bed!” What had previously been apathy turned to pure toxicity, a mad look burning in Aunt Daryl’s eyes.

“I am no fool, Diana, as much as you may think otherwise,” she spat, “I quite frankly should have put the pieces together much sooner.”

Diana remained standing perfectly still, shock overwhelming her. The typically cool and collected heiress stood dumbfounded, stuttering over the starts of several sentences. “I-I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

A chuckle escaped Daryl’s lips as she shook her head. “Really? Must I actually go through the process of airing your laundry? Fine. Both of us know that the girl never should have made it to you that night in the chambers. Both of us know the last one to enter that chamber was your father. Both of us know you have been _entirely_ uninterested with these boys--boys that your friends would be dieing for a chance just to be seen with.” She slammed her fist down on the table, having long since dropped her typical facade, “Do you have _any_ idea how many strings I had to pull for some of them?

Clearing her throat, Aunt Daryl recomposed herself. “I am aware you prefer girls, my darling Diana,” she quipped, “It would, however, truly be a _shame_ if this information were made public. God forbid, a _commoner_ girl. Aside from destroying the fame you now enjoy after that missile stunt, I doubt you’d ever be able to claim the status as head, hm? No, it would harm the Cavendish name too much. You’d certainly become the least favorable candidate.”

The room that was stiflingly cold just minutes ago now suddenly was a sauna, judging by how red and sweaty Diana had become. Her world began shifting in and out of focus, the girl doing her best not to totally and utterly break down; how did she know? She hadn’t even known herself until recently, after all. Why couldn’t she bring herself to dispute it?

“You are still a child, Diana. A child who does not know what’s best for her or her family. Your current fame will not last forever. It will not pay the servants, it will not put bread on the table.” Aunt Daryl said, an aura of smugness radiating from her, “You need to think for the family if you truly want to be head. Right now, you are in the media’s spotlight; we can capitalize on that and secure a future for the Cavendish name. That _is_ what you want, no? You don’t actually think I married out of a passion did I? No, the old freak had more money than sense. It was a good investment. I advise you take your remaining dates more seriously, if you actually want to see the Cavendish name return.”

A pregnant pause filled the air, hot tears welling up in Diana’s eyes. Aunt Daryl, for her part, seemed absolutely, entirely disinterested. It was as if she had merely commented on the weather, rather than the bombshell she dropped. 

Standing, Aunt Daryl began her way out of the room, the only noise being the steady claps of her heels against the floor. She stopped as she passed Diana, allowing herself a mocking glare. She broke eye contact, staring down at the ground. “It’s time to stop playing games, Diana. If you truly wish to take my spot, to restore the Cavendish name, you must mature. Play your part.” 

She continued her leisurely stroll towards the exit. After Daryl had left, leaving the doors shut behind her, Diana heard a conversation between Anna and her aunt; followed by two separate footsteps heading in opposite directions.

Alone, the younger Cavendish collapsed to her knees, trying to grasp at the red rug underneath her--anything to keep her grounded in reality. She silently allowed herself an opportunity to cry, as what felt like an eternity passed. Diana gasped for air, sobs coming out as muffled cries. Her entire world felt to be falling apart, her typically calm demeanor feeling a million miles away. A million different thoughts rushed through her head, each colliding with the other: Why didn’t she say anything to defend herself? She was a coward. A fool. She deserved this, really, for how awful she had been toward Akko. She didn’t deserve her. 

For what could have been minutes, hours, days, or years, Diana remained crouched over the floor. What had she been thinking? Of course it would never work out with Akko. It was selfish to think otherwise. Aunt Daryl, as much as she hated to admit it, was right. It would be unfair to the family for Diana to follow her passion when it came to love; it would hurt them. She had already hurt the family once by attending Luna Nova in favor of becoming the head of the household. Doing so twice would truly prove she was unable and undeserving of the tradition of excellence surrounding the Cavendish name.

Right?

Slowly and steadily Diana forced herself to stand up, shaking somewhat. Grabbing her handkerchief, she wiped at her red face. She stood at the doors to the Study for several minutes, doing her absolute best to project the typical Cavendish presentation. Eventually, Diana found herself in the dining room--how, she wasn’t quite sure, but she thanked her auto-pilot brain for taking her away from such an emotionally charged room. A loud ruckus and laughter emitting from the kitchen confirmed her thoughts.

She sighed, doing her best to once again re-collect her thoughts, as she swung through the kitchen doors. The jovial and light-hearted attitude she had heard from the other side immediately died down, the staff seemingly fearful of their young boss.

“Diana! Hey!” Akko cried, rushing past the dining staff. “I didn’t think you’d be back yet, so I was gonna see about lunch! Then I kinda ended up _helping_ with lunch.”

A faint smile crossed Diana’s face. “That’s wonderful, Akko.”

“Oh! Let’s go back to your room; I wanna show you something!” She reached for Diana’s hand, beginning to drag her out of the kitchen. Before they exited, she shouted a quick, “Bye guys!” and continued on their way. “Oh, uhm, I don’t actually remember the way back. You lead?”

Giggling at her friend’s typical impulsive nature, Diana took the lead back towards her room. Part of her wished to ignore the conversation from earlier, and to focus on Akko’s constant chatter next to her along the way, but every time the blonde would begin to focus elsewhere, something would return her to her aunt’s scolding. That something tended to be staring longingly into Akko’s chestnut eyes, or seeing how her ponytail bobbed as she walked, or really anything and everything about Akko. It was fortunate, then, that they arrived at her room before she could reprimand herself for any ‘selfish’ desires.

Akko bounced over towards her luggage, digging through it. She hummed as she gently tossed what wasn’t this mystery object into a nearby pile.

“Found it!” She shouted, proudly displaying her Shiny Chariot Card Binder to the world. “I thought we could play a few games! I haven’t had anyone to play against outside of Lotte and Sucy, and neither of them take it very seriously--”

Diana remained in the doorway, staring dumbfounded at Akko. Nothing felt _real_. The world turned into fuzz as tears returned to her eyes. Despite the girl in front of her, the world might as well have been light years away. A ringing began in her ears as she gripped the doorframe for support. It was as if she were back in the study, Aunt Daryl’s words echoing in her mind. The memory felt so _real_ , so _immediate_. The feeling of being trapped was unfamiliar to the blonde witch, so well-adjusted to the demands constantly placed upon her. But this was something different: something more sinister, almost. Once again, it seemed Daryl was the only one able to create such emotion. Only this time, there were no physical, snake restraints: they were purely emotional. And just as before, one voice brought her back from the restraints:

“...Diana!”

The ringing turned to words as the world came rushing back into focus. The brunette stood gripping Diana’s shoulders, shaking them slightly, a look of deep concern plastered across Akko’s face. The two stood face to face, close enough that the tears in her blue eyes must have been visible. She finally gave in, sobbing loudly as she leaned on Akko’s shoulder. Of _course_ it was Akko who brought her back. After all, in some regards it was her fault Diana was in such a position. The blonde witch shook her head, banishing the thought. No, this was no one’s fault but her own, and once again it came down to Akko to save the day. Just as it had been in the Cavendish family catacombs, just as it had been in the missile crisis. As irresponsible as many felt the Japanese witch was, she had cleaned up the mistakes of others many, many times.

It all came back to Akko.

Meanwhile, the confused Akko in question leaned into the embrace. Waving her wand behind Diana’s back, she shut the door from a distance, ensuring some degree of privacy. “Uhm, I’m not sure what’s wrong Diana, but I’m sure we can fix it!” she exclaimed, “Do you wanna talk about it?”

She nodded, and lead Akko weakly over to the bed. Suddenly, Diana collapsed dramatically onto the lush mattress. The brunette witch moved to lie next to her, stroking Diana’s back. Occasionally, Akko would mumble out an “it’s okay” or “I’m here,” seemingly scared or distraught by her typically collected friend’s sudden change in composure. Slowly, Diana began recovering from her sudden outburst; her gasps for air turned to quiet, steady breathing. 

What felt like a millennium passed between the blue eyed witch ceasing her crying and explaining her actions. Finally, she spoke, somewhat more quietly than normal, her voice slightly raspy, “My apologies, Akko. You shouldn’t have had to see that.”

If Akko wasn’t shocked before, she certainly was now. “What?! Of course not! Sometimes you just gotta like, let it out!” She paused before questioning further, “So….do you wanna talk about it?”

Hesitating, Diana briefly considered telling Akko everything. Her aunt’s words rang through her mind, however, quickly destroying any chance of that idea bearing fruit. “I assure you I will be fine. The stress of my rank merely got to me; between the dates and the upcoming ball, I’ve been overworked, I suppose.”

That wasn’t _entirely_ a lie; her workload had been growing steeper and steeper, but it certainly wasn’t enough to cause an attack along those lines. She felt somewhat bad, lying to the girl who lie next to her, but it couldn’t be helped. It was either this or confront something Diana was entirely unprepared to face.

“Of course!” Akko shouted, slapping her fist down against her hand, “You obviously need help dating! Well don’t worry, Diana! I’ll help make sure the rest of your dates go great; no, better than great!” 

Diana raised a finger in protest, but Akko quickly slammed it back down. “No buts! I’m gonna figure out some way to make sure you have a good time!” A fire burned in her passionate dark eyes, and Diana realized the futility of protest. She might not have known the brunette as long as some of her other friends, but she had certainly come to realize there are certain things you just can’t challenge Akko on: it appeared this was one of them.

“Do you even have any experience regarding romance?” Diana teased, playfully glaring at her fellow witch. Unfortunately, the words came out harsher than she intended, judging by Akko’s somewhat surprised reaction.

This, interestingly, elicited a blush from Akko. “N-no! But that doesn’t mean I can’t figure it out!” She paused, seemingly considering the other half of what Diana had said, “Also, what ball? I didn’t know there was gonna be a party.”

Well, crap. The combination of Akko and the Cavendish’s yearly ‘return-to-Luna-Nova’ ball hadn’t even crossed Diana’s mind. Thinking back to the _last_ formal social event Akko had attended caused the blonde to shudder in fear. “Ah, it’s a yearly Cavendish tradition….I suppose informing you had slipped my mind. My sincerest apologies.”

Akko put her arm around Diana’s shoulders, holding her close, “Don’t worry about it! That’s so exciting though!” Noticing her concern, Akko quickly moved to reassure, “I’ll be on my best behavior, promise!”

Smiling, Diana hopped out of the bed. Following closely behind was Akko, watching as the heiress picked up Akko’s card binder. 

“So, you wanted to show me how to play, no?”

The two spent the next hour and a half playing matches of the trading card game--matches that Akko would insist were practice matches, seeing as she lost all but one. In all likelihood they likely would have continued playing for the rest of the day, had it not been for a knock at Diana’s door.

Anna slowly creaked the door open, briefly staring at the two witches sprawled on the floor with their cards. “Milady, lunch is ready. Additionally, your presence has been requested by the rest of the Cavendishes in order to prepare the ball, following lunch of course.” The old servant bowed, and made her exit.

Akko quickly leapt up into the air, determination burning in her expression. “Diana! You _gotta_ let me help you with your ball-thingy!” Noticing a bit of apprehension on Diana’s face, Akko quickly left no room for error, “Nuh uh, no buts miss! You already said yourself you were overworked, you’re gonna let me help you!”

Diana giggled slightly. This ball would certainly be...different, considering Akko was involved. She doubted that even Aunt Daryl could talk the girl out of it; as mean as her mother’s sister was, Akko was more dedicated, more determined. If Diana wasn’t brave enough to stand up to her aunt, than she would allow Akko to do the job for her, and provide as much support as the brunette needed. Standing, she brushed her skirt, the two heading off to lunch together. 

This time, Diana wouldn’t back down.


	3. Chapter 3

“Stupid Diana’s aunt…” Akko grumbled, stomping back and forth in the Cavendish courtyard, “Stupid traditions….”

It had all started following the brief lunch she and Diana had before the ever-important Cavendish Family Ball meeting. Having pledged to support the overworked, stressed out blonde in anyway possible, Akko had fully been intending to sit in on the discussion, no matter how boring!

Intended was the key word there.

Aunt Daryl had insisted the meeting was ‘family only,’ and that a guest as important as a New Nine Witch simply must be surprised by the extravagance they had planned. “Akko mustn’t be privy to any details, lest she be spoiled of the fun!” she had said. Sarcasm had dripped from every word as she spoke them, and it was clear to the New Nine member that she was simply unwanted in the meeting. Not a surprise, considering how cruel Daryl had been when the two first met several months ago; and not that a lack of invitation would stop Akko, mind you. She just needed to figure out _how_ she’d be gaining entry to the ever-exciting world of party planning.

Akko’s pacing came to a stop as she slammed both feet down to the ground, pulling at her hair. This wouldn’t do at all; the meeting was certainly starting soon, if not already under way, and Diana clearly needed a break. She kicked a small pebble, flinging it against a window.

Wait a minute.

A window! Of course! Akko had very briefly seen a glimpse into the room, and one wall was absolutely covered in windows. Some of which would certainly be left open on such a fine and warm summer day. Doing her best impression of a casual-absolutely-not-trying-to-break-and-enter stroll around the manor, she eventually found the room in question. Peering into the window, she saw that everyone in the room was facing her wall, making climbing through an impossibility. Unless, that was…

“ _Metamorphie Faciesse!_ ”

Akko’s body morphed and shifted into the oddly familiar form of an orange mouse, including her signature ponytail. Hopping up onto the window ledge, she squeezed her way through the crack between window seal and the glass. She was in, and leapt onto the floor below, skittering around on the floor until she was under the table. 

Overhead, she heard several older women talking. Oddly, Diana seemed rather quiet: an unusual situation, considering how much of a know-it-all she could be in class. They spoke on and on about whether or not to invite Lord Who’s-A-Ma-Call-It, or Madame What’s-It-To-Ya, and quickly the witch turned mouse found herself, as she often did, bored. The conversation had shifted to an even duller topic, the budget, when Akko finally was truly, without any room for doubt, bored. She poked her head out from under the table, and planned to grab some of the food laid out on the table. How exactly remained a mystery, but that hadn’t stopped Akko before, so it was unlikely to stop her now. She hopped up onto a chair, then onto the table proper, only to remember that there was in fact a reason she had been hiding _under_ it rather than on it.

“A MOUSE!” One of the older women shrieked.

The mass panic that ensued was, in Akko’s opinion, a wee bit over the top. Or maybe a _lot_ over the top. She stood in the middle of the madness dumbfounded by the reaction of some of the world’s best witches to a single rat. Diana stood to clarify it was, in fact, her friend, but was overruled by one of the oldest women standing up with a shoe in hand. “I got it!” she shouted, tossing the shoe at rat Akko.

Now, ordinarily, this shoe would have flown far over the mousey form of the Japanese witch. However, the possibility of being hit by a giant shoe caused her to panic, dropping her signature mouse form. And so, instead of harmlessly soaring over the mouse, it collided directly with Akko’s face.

A resounding _WHACK_ filled the room as the face met shoe, causing Akko to dramatically fall backwards onto the table as she recoiled. The panic began to die down as the gathered women stared in awe at the former mouse, the girl who had helped revive magic as they knew it.

Apologies were thrown to the girl from all over (or, almost all: Aunt Daryl remained quiet as a rock), as the doors slammed open. Anna stood in the doorway, shouting something Akko couldn’t quite make out over the searing pain of her head. She did, however, seem frightened as she swung the doors open: until that turned to ferociousness, as she marched over to the young girl laying on the table, dragging her out of the room.

As the pain became a less pressing concern for Akko, she began to focus on the servant dragging her through Cavendish manor. Her face was wrought with fury, and she mumbled under her breath.

“Honestly,” she said, “It is as if you have no respect for this family’s traditions and customs. I truthfully fail to understand what milady sees in you.” Opening the door to Diana’s room, Anna gestured for Akko to enter. It appears she was under a temporary house arrest.

Akko opened her mouth to refute, but was interrupted once more by Anna. “You mustn’t ignore the rules of the Cavendishes, young guest. They exist for a reason.” Sighing, she paused to think as Akko moved to sit on the bed, rubbing the area where the shoe had hit. “I understand you mean well, Ms. Kagari; your….unorthodox actions during the ceremony proved such. But please be more careful. Dia--milady truly cares for you, for a reason I can’t seem to find.”

“Gee, thanks.” Akko remarked sarcastically, “I mean I know Diana cares about me. She cares for all her friends! Isn’t that like the family motto or something? Caring?”

Anna rolled her eyes, “It is ‘affection.’ I am truly unsure why milady cares for you so, but her letters back home spoke highly of your magical abilities.”

This caused Akko to jump up, seemingly forgetting her bruising face. “Really?!” She cried out, the familiar sparkle in her eye shining brightly. Giggling, she began to cheer, “That must mean my magic’s like Chariot’s!”

Before Anna could criticize Akko for potentially rustling Diana’s sheets, the blonde heiress in question entered the room. Glancing around the room, she was confused to see the bruised Akko so cheerful, especially considering how Anna had a tendency to belittle the girl.

Following a brief conversation in which Anna was excused of her babysitting duties, Diana moved over next to Akko on her (admittedly ruffled) bed. She ran her finger over the red, shoe-shaped bruise on her face, prompting a cry of pain from the brunette.

“My apologies, Akko. Allow me.” She said, pulling her wand from her side. For the second time in two days, she ran the wand over the Japanese witch’s face, watching as the discoloration slowly faded away. When she was finally satisfied, she returned her wand to her belt.

“Sooooo,” Akko started, elongating the word to an absurd degree as she bounced up and down. It had seemingly taken quite a bit of willpower to be patient as Diana had healed her, and she was ready to burst with curiosity. “What’s the news?!”

Diana sighed, shaking her head. “I will tell you, but just please be more cautious in the future. I understand you wish to help me, but I do not wish to keep seeing you endanger yourself.” 

“I wasn’t in _danger_ ,” Akko clarified, “and besides, you can just fix me up like you did! Uhm, thanks again by the way.”

Placing her hands over Akko’s, Diana stared directly into the girl’s beautiful chestnut colored eyes. She briefly paused to consider the word ‘beautiful’ in that sentence, but realizing how attentive (or, rather, inattentive) her crush was, she quickly pushed the thought away. “You can’t behave like that, Akko. I might not be around to help you always, and I certainly don’t wish to see you in harm’s way.” She cleared her throat, removing her hands from Akko’s. “Now, regarding the ball, we are in charge of creating and sending invitations. I do hope that will be acceptable.”

Nodding enthusiastically, Akko’s smile encompassed the entirety of her face. She began rambling on about how the invitations could be enchanted to shoot confetti out when opened and play a little tune and so on and so on and so on. Truth be told, she wasn’t quite sure that there were spells for that, but she was convinced that if anyone knew it would be Diana. When informed that they, in fact, must have their designs and chosen invitees approved by the head of household, Akko grumbled out a few choice insults regarding Aunt Daryl. Still, she insisted that the invitations would be so spectacular and so amazing that you’d be have to be crazy to turn it down! Just without the typical Akko charm, considering who was signing off on the project. 

“Y’know Diana, I had no idea you had so many family members.” Akko said, flopping backwards onto the bed. “I mean, I thought it was just you, Aunt Daryl, and your mean cousins!”

Diana smiled, looking Akko in the eyes. “That would be a rather small amount for a family name like ours, would it not?” She teased, “Most of the family lives across Europe; although, I suppose the vast majority are in England, truthfully.”

Suddenly, Akko was face to face with the young Cavendish. “Whaaaaaaat? No way!” She appeared dumbfounded and utterly confused by this development, “Why would anyone not wanna live here?! It’s so big, there’s gotta be room for all of you!”

“It certainly is, but many of them had their services requested elsewhere.” Diana stated matter-of-factly. “We are a family of noble, powerful witches. When people are in need of a skilled witch, they send word and we respond.”

The two continued their discussion of the inner-workings and politics of the Cavendish family. Quite frankly, Diana was surprised that Akko was interested enough to at least keep up a facade of interest, if she wasn’t legitimately invested in the conversation. It was all fairly dull to the heiress, but Akko continuously likened the family’s actions to various superheroes and TV shows that Diana admittedly had no frame of reference for. Still, she was glad to see the girl so intrigued by the family and name she was so proud of. ‘ _After all, she’d hopefully be a part of it someday_ ,’ one, more unruly part of Diana’s brain thought. She was incredibly thankful, then, for Akko to provide an easy distraction from pondering her thoughts.

“I just don’t get why your Aunt is the head,” she said. “I mean, with so many talented witches there had to be a better person for the job, right?”

Diana smiled. Although she’d never admit it, Akko’s continual attacks on Aunt Daryl lightened her mood considerably. Perhaps it wasn’t the affectionate, Cavendish thing to feel, but if she truly was too childish to lead as Daryl claimed, then it was only fair to harbor such emotions. “While it may not seem like it, Aunt Daryl is in fact the most skilled witch in the family, currently. As such, she was thought to have been the best candidate to lead us. Obviously that was a mistake: one I intend to rectify.”

Returning to more light-hearted and jovial territory, the two witches shifted topics to that of their friends, professors, and the upcoming school year. At some point in the conversation (in all honesty, Diana couldn’t remember when) Akko had moved to lie down in front of the window, watching the sun begin to set. She gestured for her friend to join her in partaking in the sunset, and Diana hesitantly sprawled out on the floor next to her. As twilight turned to night, they discussed anything and everything the two could think of--although, Akko certainly kept returning to the topic of Shiny Chariot.

As Akko talked about how great Chariot’s “Flame of the Soul” show was, Diana began to lose herself in her own mind once again. This was nice. Really nice. Really, _really_ nice. It wasn’t often Diana spent time with someone who could genuinely keep her attention for the hours that Akko had. It was almost bittersweet, in some ways. A part of her truly desired this for her future, a part of her that was fundamentally in conflict with her desire to return the Cavendish name to its’ rightful glory. She needed to remind herself that this couldn’t be, that this was not sustainable. It wasn’t right. Of _course_ Akko would be the one to stand a chance at throwing her well-organized plans into freefall. Creating chaos was one of the brunette’s best talents! Internally, Diana sighed. It wasn’t right to blame the Japanese girl for something she wasn’t aware she was doing to her. It wasn’t right. Right? 

She shook her head, aiming to clear it of the ever familiar loop of thoughts that had plagued her since the morning’s confrontation with Aunt Daryl. She needed to change the topic, something that made Akko less impassioned, as the more passionate she was the cuter she was, and as the cuter she was, the harder it was to ignore and repress the feelings Diana definitely didn’t have for her.

At some point the room had fallen silent, Akko staring at the stars in front of her. It seemed to Diana that her thoughts had turned the mood tense. Feeling a need to fix this problem, she spoke.

“Akko.”

“Yeah?”

Okay, in all honesty, Diana had for once not thought this far ahead. This is what Akko did to her, she made her helpless, she threw all her plans into disarray! There was only one thought on her mind, and it would have to do. It was either that or nothing at all, which would certainly only make things tenser.

“Tell me about your life back home.”

Akko was noticeably set back by this, having not expected such a question from Diana. “W-what, you mean like my family and stuff? Are you sure? I mean it’s pretty boring stuff if ya ask me.” She sat upright, stretching her arms behind her back. Diana simply nodded.

“You listened to the politics surrounding my family,” she started, “So it would be only fair to listen to yours. Besides, despite your talkative tendencies, you haven’t spoken much about your life pre-Luna Nova.” Pausing, she considered what she had said: it had been truthful. In all honesty, she was curious how the first ever commoner in the school’s history had made it there. “Not that you must, if you don’t wish to discuss it.”

Shaking her head violently, she turned to face Diana. “Nope! I guess that makes sense! Ok, uhm, where to start, where to start…”

“Perhaps where you live?”

“Oh, duh!” Akko blushed, seemingly upset at missing the obvious. “Okay so I’m from a really small town in the Miyagi prefecture! It’s like, uhm, a state in America! I think. I’m not so great at government. But anyways, I live on a farm!”

Diana chuckled slightly at how easily Akko had lost her train of thought, and thought over the idea of Akko on a farm. She supposed that explained her incredible physical strength, and her negative disposition towards the wealthy. 

“Anyways! We grow a bunch of stuff and I help tend to the cows we have. They’re really cute!” Akko said, seemingly ignoring the fact that those cows were not likely to live an overly long life. Her oblivious optimism was something to be admired, truly. “My family’s pretty boring. I’m an only child, but my grandparents live with us so it was crowded a lot. None of them are witches, but I guess you kinda knew that already.”

She paused, her good attitude from earlier cut short. “They, uh, didn’t really like that I wanted to be a witch and stuff. My mom really wanted me to focus on becoming an athlete or something, cause I had a scholarship for it.” That, too, made a lot of sense; Akko was certainly athletic (not that Diana had been _staring_ or anything). “They’re a lot happier now that they saw what I could do though! My grandma still kinda wishes I had gone to a regular school or something but I think that’s just because of all the media around our house now. She says they trample the crops a lot.”

“And what of your friends back home?” Diana asked. She was truly intrigued by Akko’s old life; how totally and utterly different it was from her own.

While it had been an innocent question, Akko hesitated to answer, stumbling over her words. “U-uhm, well, I didn’t really have many friends back home. Or, any really.” The look of concern mixed with pity that washed over Diana’s face caused the brunette to blush, waving her hands in front of her. “Really i-it’s not a bad thing! I promise! It’s just most people didn’t really like how I tried to fly and use magic. It’s different now ‘cause I was on TV but back then I pretty much just hung out by myself. But now I got you! And all my other friends.” She gripped Diana’s hands, a smile across her face.

Diana matched Akko’s smile with her own, stealing a glance over at the clock. 11:53. Stifling a yawn, she returned her eyes to Akko. “I do believe we should be getting to sleep; I have yet another date tomorrow.”

A devilish grin spread itself across Akko’s face, “Perfect! And _I’m_ gonna help!”

Briefly, Diana attempted to protest, but the efforts were ultimately futile. It appeared whatever idea Akko had would come to fruition and there was little that could be done to stop her. As the two prepared for bed, Diana mulled over Akko’s childhood. The two were different as they possibly could be. It was amazing that such a friendship--and nothing more--had sprouted from the rocky beginnings they had. Expecting a romance to blossom from two supremely different individuals was silly, childish. Sure, she wanted nothing more than it to work, but it was impossible.

Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter and the last one turned out really dialogue heavy! whoops. anyways, i kinda wanted to flesh out my ideas for Akko's backstory in this chapter. i hope it made sense! i also tried to explain how i felt the Cavendish family could be structured. admittedly this one was rather exposition heavy, but that can be fun! i hope it was for y'all, and thanks for all your kind words so far! <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning for the d-slur this chapter! i only use it once though! i don't think i'll use it anymore after this but if i do i'll warn y'all!

As much as Diana desired to go on a date with Akko, this wasn’t quite what she had in mind.

The morning had started off strangely enough, with Akko waking _her_ up, unusual considering how frequently the Japanese witch was tardy or flat-out absent due to her sleeping habits. And then Akko had begun rapidly explaining her ‘super awesome flawless’ plan to the half-awake Diana, and things went from mildly odd to flat out bizarre. 

Evidently the events from yesterday’s attempted eavesdropping had not just failed to put an end to the girl’s scheming, but had in fact inspired Akko to reuse the exact same idea, albeit this time with a willing and aware Diana. Although her groggy brain had made listening to the hyperactive witch difficult, she picked up on the words ‘purse’, ‘metamorphosis’, and ‘hide.’

Within the hour, Diana was dressed up with a larger-than-usual bag by her side, with plenty of room for a mousey Akko to ride in. Before leaving the room, the blonde witch enchanted an old doll of hers into a full-sized Akko look-a-like, carefully posing it as to be asleep in her bed. With Aunt Daryl seemingly keeping a close eye on her and Akko’s impulsive tendencies, it never hurt to be prepared. Coming into the lobby, Diana entered into her usual dance with her aunt, moving slowly but surely towards the door and the boy of the hour awaiting her.

Inside the purse Akko remained none the wiser to the facade of politeness occurring outside of the bag. She remained nestled cozily into a particularly large pocket, alongside a book she had begged Diana to shrink down and a few pieces of ever-tantalizing cheese. She made a note to investigate (or more likely, ask the fountain of knowledge that was Diana) whether or not her constant use of the mouse form was impacting her diet. Suddenly, light flooded into the bag. As agreed upon, Diana had uncovered the bag once getting past the ever watchful eye of the Cavendish head, providing Akko to both hear the conversation better, and more importantly, breathe.

Poking her head up from her tiny copy of the summer reading for Magical Linguistics, Akko listened intently to the new, masculine voice now present. He had a thick accent from….somewhere. Truth be told the witch turned rodent couldn’t nail it down, but it certainly wasn’t English. French, maybe? Although he didn’t sound much like Chariot in her opinion. Shaking her head, Akko cleared the thought from her head. She had to focus! She wasn’t quite sure what for, since she didn’t really have a plan outside of well, being there, but what if this creep kidnapped them?

By the time she had truly committed herself to focusing on the two’s discussion, the limosuine came to an abrupt stop. Feeling movement, she gripped the fabric around her, preparing for lift off. As it turned out, it was _really_ hard to boh keep from getting sick and listen in on a date at the same time. Or, at least it was for Akko, though she never claimed to be an excellent listener.

Once again, light returned to the purse as Diana opened it once more. This time, for real, Akko would ensure this boy wasn’t up to anything suspicious.

“I’m simply asking a question. I just find it difficult to believe two _witches_ stopped a nuclear bomb from destroying half of--”

“It wasn’t two witches. It was nine.” Diana interrupted. Akko had to withhold a small, squeaky gasp. For the blonde witch to interrupt someone like that, she must be absolutely pissed (although, Akko seriously doubted she’d use those words). The louder than normal clattering of a tea cup hitting a saucer confirmed her suspicions.

“Right. Nine. Whatever. Look, let’s forget about that. I suppose I struck a nerve.” He said, Akko imagining a smug grin across his face. “Now what’s important is you’re beautiful, even if you do still cling to magic. I suppose that’s ‘in’ now, after your stunt, so we can work with that.” Groaning, the brunette mouse listened as he blabbed on and on about the ‘synergy’ and ‘fame’ that would come from their relationship. Did all rich boys hate magic? Judging off her interactions with Andrew, the boys at Appleton, and now this, it certainly seemed like it. Slowly, Akko resigned herself to simply remember whatever this snobby guy said to mock later. Or, she was going to, until the conversation between the two lulled to awkward silence.

Diana cleared her throat, beginning to excuse herself after a rather dull half hour, but was interrupted by a loud, melodramatic sigh from the boy sitting across from her. 

“Ugh, you’re really gonna call it? I mean my parents told me the rumors, but I didn’t actually believe a girl as pretty as you could resist me.” He laughed snidely to himself, “I think you at _least_ owe me a kiss. Maybe that’ll fix you.”

The only thing that escaped the heiress’ mouth was admittedly undignified gaping and stammering, a small blush spreading across her face.

Meanwhile, Akko decided it was time to open Pandora’s Box so to speak and take action on behalf of her stunned speechless friend. As the boy continued to pester Diana for a kiss--”or something more,” as he had moved on to request--a mousey head arose from Diana’s purse. She scampered over to the other side, and came to face the boy’s bare leg. Truly, there was only one thought racing through her head as she hopped up onto his shoe. Willing her teeth magically into a more fang-like style, she bit down onto his leg.

Hard.

The boy’s teasing and prodding suddenly grew into a loud scream of pain and vulgarities as he tossed his leg onto the table, spilling over his now cold coffee. Akko, maintaining her bite, made direct eye contact with the rude date, her fiery eyes matching his fear-filled ones. Diana continued to look on in disbelief as he turned to face her instead of the mouse on his leg.

“You did this, didn’t you!” He winced in pain, pointing at the mouse. “That’s a bloody familiar! You...you...you…” It was the boy’s turn to stammer, looking for a proper insult. “You witchey _dyke_!”

While the attention had certainly shifted to the commotion that arose after Akko bit down on the boy, the atmosphere suddenly changed as he uttered that word. Some, more vocal, customers gasped. Truth be told, Akko had no idea whatever he had said meant, but judging by the way he spat it out and Diana’s expression, it was serious. She loosened her bite, allowing the boy to shake his leg free. He shouted out a threat of legal action as he half ran, half limped out the door.

Once again, the atmosphere shifted. Cries of “a mouse!” filled the shop, and Akko suddenly remembered that the mouse in question was in fact her. The door swung open as a small family entered--tourists, judging by the attire--and the brunette took it as her cue to flee. Rounding the corner, she muttered the release and transformed back into her human self. Sliding against the wall, she groaned. The gross taste of flesh in her mouth was nothing compared to the disaster she had just wrought in front of Diana; and if the blonde’s face were any indicator, she was not handling it well. Stomping her feet, Akko whined as she headed back towards the cafe to clean up her latest mess.

Just as she reached the small business, however, she spotted a certain blonde awhile ahead, hunched over alone on a bench. Akko sighed with the realization that--once again--one of her half-baked schemes had lead to a friend being hurt. Wordlessly, she took a seat next to Diana.

“Sorry.” “I’m sorry.”

The two girls speak at the same time, prompting an awkward half-giggle to escape the brunette. Once again, silence washed over them.

“I shouldn’t have had forced you into that plan, Diana. I just really really wanted to help you! But I guess I shoulda expected I’d get carried away, huh?”

Smiling, Diana stared up at the sky. “Nonsense. You know how stubborn we both can be; had I truly wished for you to stay behind, I would have succeeded, I assure you.” 

Briefly, she considered protesting that the heiress could have kept her plan from succeeding, but chose better considering the mood. After another pause, Akko pierced the silence. “Hey, Diana? Can I ask you something? What’d that word he said mean?”

Diana noticeably tensed up at this. Akko quickly moved to waive the question, insisting that she needn’t answer the question. 

“It’s...fine, Akko. I don’t--I mean, I haven’t….” She sighed, recollecting her thoughts. “It isn’t something I really speak about, but I suppose if we are really are friends I can trust you with this.” Staring into Akko’s eyes, Diana gripped the girl’s hands. Doing her best to actually avoid saying such a vulgarity, she started. “What he said….it’s an insult against, ah….” Uncharacteristically, the girl mumbled the end of her sentence. A flaming blush grew across her face.

“You don’t gotta tell me, Diana! It’s okay.”

This was it: now or never. “I like women, Akko. In a...ah, romantic sense.”

A lightbulb went off above Akko’s head, her mouth forming an O-shape as she slammed her fist against her hand. She giggled, embracing Diana in a light hug. The surprised heiress slowly leaned in, joining with her. “Diana! I do too!”

Stammering, Diana’s brain short circuited. Akko? _Like_ girls? “What?”

“I thought it was obvious!” She started, “I mean I haven't really talked about it either but you didn't think I only liked Chariot for her magic, did you? Don’t get me wrong, her magic is the best! But she was like my first crush or whatever!” Akko blushed at this, perhaps remembering that this woman was now her teacher. “N-not anymore, though! I grew out of that, it’d be weird now.” She said, awkwardly laughing at the implication.

Suddenly, she made the connection between ‘the word’ from earlier and what Diana had just confided in her. “Oh….man, I’m sorry Diana. I would’ve bit him harder if I knew.” 

Smiling, Diana shook her head. “It’s no problem at all, Akko. I grew a tough skin ages ago; I was merely surprised that were ‘rumors’ as he called them going around at all.” She sighed. “I suppose I should have expected it, with how many dates I’ve turned away.”

The two remained sitting together for some time, occasionally discussing how they found out (Diana, of course, kept the whole ‘you shouldn’t have been able to enter the catacombs unless we were a good match’ thing to herself) or who knows or how long they’ve known for. It was a conversation filled with pauses, although not unwelcome ones. Sitting together, Akko and Diana simply thought over what lead them and their friendship to this moment.

Eventually, Diana stood. Reaching for her wand, she summoned an owl familiar. After briefly speaking to it in a hushed bird tongue, it flew off. “We have about 30 minutes until someone will be here to pick us up. I would recommend you hide once more before we return.”

“Right!”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Aunt Daryl was, quite reasonably, suspicious of Diana’s date to say the least. But, try as best she could, the older woman was unable to find any major flaw in the younger’s story. Akko was (as far as she knew) still asleep in the bed, Diana had no mouse familiar, and it wasn’t as if she had gained anything from such an outburst on the boy’s behalf--if anything, it had likely hurt her. So, Daryl let the girl off with little more than an empty apology for any trouble she may have experienced due to him.

Entering her room, Diana set down her purse with her mousey cargo and dispelled the illusion spell. She took a seat at her desk, hearing a tell-tale ‘poof’ from behind, signifying Akko was once again human. Grabbing a neatly bound binder of parchments, the blonde began glancing over a list that seemed to have no end. Occasionally she would scratch off a name here, or pause and add a name there. Akko did her best to contain her curiosity, but eventually her constant glances over the shoulder grabbed Diana’s attention.

“If you wish to know what I am doing, I am updating our invitation list to match the finalized copy.”

Doing her best to feign disinterest, Akko teased, “Pfft, I wasn’t gonna ask anyways.” She thought over what Diana said, coming to a realization. “Wait, you said _ours_! That means I can help you, right?”

Diana chuckled, turning to face the brunette. “Yes, Akko. Just let me finish this list, and don’t bite any of the guests this time, alright?”

Mumbling out an “it was only this once,” Akko began reading over one of the many books that lined Diana’s room. Deep down she knew she wasn’t going to be able to pay attention to the reading, but at least she’d look busy. Honestly, how could anyone own so many books? Sure, she wasn’t an avid reader or anything but Akko was pretty sure Diana had more books in her room alone than she had read in her entire life. That wasn’t even counting the various studies they had! 

Her mind drifted from the topic of whatever she was reading to that of the admittedly less than ideal morning. She was certainly glad that Diana trusted her enough to tell her something so personal, and even happier to be able to share something in return, but the means didn’t quite justify the ends in her opinion. Privately she vowed to make it up to the blonde, somehow.

Still, it was always nice to find someone like her. There was Amanda, yes, and she didn’t need to be a _Nightfall_ expert to tell there was something going on between her roommates, but Diana was different. Akko couldn’t put her finger on it, but something about being able to share this with her made her happy, happier than it probably should have. Filing it under things to consider later (that she would likely forget about), she was interrupted by the girl in question.

“Yeah?” Akko responded.

“I was wondering what it was you had in mind regarding invitations. We can’t go too far, but I may be able to convince my aunt to agree if it’s small enough.”

Pausing, Akko rubbed her chin. Something small enough to be approved by Aunt Daryl would have to be really, really, _really_ small. Confetti? No, that was probably too far. And if confetti was out the window then fireworks were definitely, definitely out of the question.

“What if when people accepted the invite, the paper folded itself into a little happy unicorn! That’s your family animal, right?”

“Correct.” Diana hesitated, pondering over the feasibility of such a plan. “Logistically the plan is possible; enchanted paper tricks were a fairly popular childhood toy in the past. The only foreseeable challenge is getting approval; but let me worry about that.”

Letting out a small squeal of excitement, Akko wrapped the still sitting girl in a tight hug. “This is gonna be _great_!” Realizing the hug’s recipient was stoic as a stone, she loosened up. “Sorry!”

Diana mumbled out an answer of some kind, something between an “It was not unappreciated” and “Don’t apologize.” 

Rather than press into what it was Diana muttered (‘ _She’s been muttering a lot lately, huh?_ ’, she thought to herself.) Akko’s mind finally wandered back to a question she had been meaning to ask since yesterday. “So, when exactly is the party?”

“A week from today, actually. I suppose we should go dress shopping for you at some point. Hm.” She reached for her notebook, staring at the schedule. Akko wasn’t sure why anyone would either need or want to keep an agenda of their days over summer break, but she wasn’t going to be the one to ask; and seeing as she was probably the only one with said question, it would just have to remain unanswered.

“Today is...Friday? Yes, Friday. We can relax over the weekend, and then go shopping on Monday? Does that work with you, Akko?”

The brunette nodded violently, excited to have two whole days with nothing planned. “I mean, I could just wear that dress I wore last time, couldn’t I?”

Diana smiled. “I believe you’ll be needing a nice dress anyways, with the media attention we’ll be receiving at Luna Nova. Besides, I don’t think a dress meant for a child particularly fits you, aesthetically.”

“Aw man, I forgot it was a kid’s dress…” Akko blushed, awkwardly mumbling. “It fit really well, too.”

The rest of the day was spent discussing exactly how tall Diana was, the best color paper for invitations, the deeper meta-game of the Chariot card game, and what classes they were taking next semester. Come evening, and the two were exhausted.

“Are you sure you’re alright sharing with me, Akko?” Diana asked, “We may not be able to spare a guest room currently, but I’m sure I could get you a mattress or something if you’d rather.”

“Nah,” Akko said, shaking her head, “I’m good if you’re good! Besides, you make a nice pillow.” She giggled slightly at her own half-joke, half-statement. Diana, on the other hand, turned pinker than her old dress. Excusing herself to the shower, she left Akko alone, reading in her bed.

Returning to the room, she found Akko staring very intently at the ceiling. Without glancing away, she spoke. “Hey Diana? I know you said everything was okay this morning but, well, I’m really sorry about what I did. I’m gonna find some way to make it up to you!”

Diana waved her wand, turning off the lights with the exception of the small green glow from her wand itself. Laying next to Akko, it was turn to speak. “It’s alright, Akko. I appreciate you standing up for me, truly. I’m….glad that I told you, today.” Tentatively, she wrapped her in a loose hug. It likely wasn’t comfortable for either girl, but if one of them minded than neither spoke. “You’re a very good friend, Atsuko. Thank you. Good night.”

“Good night, Diana.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the long-ish hiatus between chapters! it was midterm season, combined with a depressive episode and the launch of mario odyssey? i'm shocked i got it out at all! :p 
> 
> anyways, i wanted to mention an important piece of characterization about akko and diana! i definitely think diana has a problem accepting and dealing with being touched/hugged/embraced, but she really likes it when it's from akko. akko on the other hand is a very touchy-feely person! so she hugs diana or holds her hands a lot, while it takes a lot for diana to do the same. just a little headcanon i have about the two! i adore small little fluffy headcanons like that so i might put more in these comment sections!

**Author's Note:**

> not sure how many chapters this fic is gonna have! anyways, get ready for Diana and Akko's month-long sleepover. also, diana's fun gay angst!


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